Sunday, June 2, 2013

@0:08, 6/1/13

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1
Opinion

Experts Foresee No Detectable Health Impact from Fukushima Radiation

By ANDREW C. REVKIN | May 31, 2013
A new international assessment of the Fukushima nuclear disaster foresees no discernable rise in health risks in Japan.
Accidents and Safety; Cancer; Energy and Power; Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (Japan); Japan Earthquake and Tsunami (2011); Nuclear Energy; Radiation; 

Yes.
2
Booming

Different in Many Ways, Both Know Compromise Is Not a Weakness

By ERIKA ALLEN | May 31, 2013

Let us begin.

3
World

Myanmar: Concern Over 2-Child Limit

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | May 28, 2013 

Upsetting Buddhists requires concerted effort.
 
4
Technology

Q&A: Choosing a Windows Tablet

By J.D. BIERSDORFER | May 31, 2013 

I hate touch screens for most things.
 
5
Opinion

Take Back the Asphalt

By ANDREW C. REVKIN | May 31, 2013 


Good idea.  The methods are questionable.
 
6
Dining & Wine

Make Peace With Meat

By MARK BITTMAN | May 29, 2013
Yes.
 
7
N.Y. / Region

Brooklyn Prosecutor’s Office Is Accused of Detaining Trial Witnesses

By MOSI SECRET | May 30, 2013
8
Business Day

Little Cause for Inflation Worries

By CATHERINE RAMPELL | May 31, 2013
The price index favored by the Federal Reserve, focusing on so-called “core inflation,” shows its lowest year-over-year rise since the government started keeping track more than five decades ago.
Consumer Behavior; Inflation (Economics); United States Economy;

Forcing spending cuts will do that.
Her reasoning is specious.
 
9
N.Y. / Region

A Second Democrat Calls for Silver to Resign

By JESSE MCKINLEY | May 29, 2013
10
Theater

Can’t Smell or Breathe, but Checks Keep Coming

By ANITA GATES | May 31, 2013
11
Home & Garden

Namaste, My Little Chickadee

By RIMA SUQI | May 30, 2013
Michele Quan’s handpainted ceramic houses are designed for small birds.
Birds; Interior Design and Furnishings; Ceramics and Pottery;

A very nice price!
 
12
World

King Gives Up Royal Yacht, but Donors Want It Back

By RAPHAEL MINDER | May 28, 2013
The businesspeople who gave the $27 million, 136-foot yacht to King Juan Carlos of Spain 13 years ago want him to return it rather than give it to the government.
Boats and Boating; Gifts;

Spain is broke.
 
13
Sports

M.L.S. Club Owner Has Latinos-Only Policy, Suit Says

By SAM BORDEN | May 31, 2013
Dan Calichman and Ted Chronopoulos charge in a lawsuit that they were fired by an M.L.S. club, Chivas USA, because they are not Latino.
Soccer; Suits and Litigation (Civil); Hispanic-Americans; Discrimination; Coaches and Managers; Suspensions, Dismissals and Resignations;

They will have a hard time proving their contention to me.
Not so hard in Southern California.
 
14
Business Day

China’s Food Deal Extends Its Reach, Already Mighty

By STEPHANIE STROM | May 30, 2013
A Chinese takeover of a large American pork producer has prompted concern about China’s expanding role in the American food supply and the implications that might have for food safety.
Pork; Food Contamination and Poisoning; International Trade and World Market; Food;

Fear mongering.

15
U.S.

Is ‘No Fun’ Sign Next? California Beach Bonfires May Be Doused

By IAN LOVETT | May 31, 2013
Air quality regulators, citing pollution and health risks, have proposed removing more than 800 fire pits that dot the coastline of Los Angeles and Orange Counties.
Beaches; Air Pollution; Law and Legislation;

The fires were there before the houses.
The whiners can close their windows or join the party.  Possibly both.
 
16
Real Estate

Transactions

By ROSALIE R. RADOMSKY | May 29, 2013
Notable properties that have been recently listed for sale, sold or leased.
Real Estate and Housing (Residential); Renting and Leasing (Real Estate); Real Estate (Commercial);

Your choice.
 
17
Health

Sorghum Salad With Cucumbers, Avocado and Cherry Tomatoes

By MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN | May 28, 2013
Cooking the grains until they splay helps them absorb the dressing.
Medicine and Health; Diet and Nutrition; Recipes; Salads;

Simple and easy.
 
18
World

With Few Clues, Afghan Pathologists Try to Put Names to Torture Victims

By ROD NORDLAND | May 29, 2013
Using outdated equipment and sometimes faced with mangled remains, doctors seek to identify Afghans who were detained by a Special Forces team and disappeared.
Torture; Deaths (Fatalities); Missing Persons; United States International Relations; Forensic Science; Afghanistan War (2001- );

C.S.I. is fiction.
Rod Nordland needs a better chain of evidence.
 
19
World

Grim Task of Identifying Factories’ Dead Overwhelms Bangladeshi Lab

By JIM YARDLEY | May 31, 2013
Anger over the Rana Plaza collapse has intensified the pressure on a small lab struggling to make DNA matches with the remains of about 300 unidentified victims.
Rana Plaza Building Collapse, Bangladesh (2013); Deaths (Fatalities); DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid); Accidents and Safety; Factories and Manufacturing; Fashion and Apparel;

Desperate people  and free money.  A riot every time.
 
20
Health

Understanding Hoarding

By JAN HOFFMAN | May 28, 2013
In the new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, hoarding is now defined as a distinct disorder.
Hoarding; Mental Health and Disorders;

I fight the impulse.  Stuff piles up,  Most of it is just opportunity.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

@9:38

1
U.S.

On Victory Day, Rabbi Honors Red Army’s Jewish Veterans

By SAMUEL G. FREEDMAN | Jun 1, 2013
They defeated Hitler, but they did so on behalf of the Soviet Union, whose own anti-Semitism led millions of its Jews to flee once they were able.
Jews and Judaism; Veterans; Holocaust and the Nazi Era; World War II (1939-45); Anti-Semitism; 

Earned honors.
The Russians have not learned.  Past events are facts.  Edits of history make no changes there.

2
Opinion

The Impending Deluge

By BRIAN FAGAN | Jun 1, 2013
Rising sea levels in a warming world threaten us with ever more sudden cataclysms.
Global Warming; Floods; Oceans and Seas; Disasters and Emergencies; Weather; Refugees and Displaced Persons;

I dispute the detail.  Brian Fagan is excessively hopeful.
The seas will rise and the low coasts will be abandoned.
The populations that leave will have to find homes.
We will fight a  long depressing losing battle with storm surge.
 
3
Booming

On Path to Priesthood, and Then He Fell for Her

By ERIKA ALLEN | May 31, 2013 

As soon as you can is best.
 
4
Business Day

China’s Food Deal Extends Its Reach, Already Mighty

By STEPHANIE STROM | May 30, 2013
5
Opinion

Is Force-Feeding Torture?

By JOE NOCERA | Jun 1, 2013
President Obama could put an end to the practice in Guantánamo Bay with a phone call. Why won’t he?
Detainees; Torture; Human Rights and Human Rights Violations; Hunger Strikes;

Yes, force feeding is torture.
Death by self starvation would be politically unbearable.
Release has been made impossible by congress.
I will assume that this is the best available path and grit my teeth.
 
6
Opinion

Take Back the Asphalt

By ANDREW C. REVKIN | May 31, 2013
7
Health

Weight Loss May Ease Psoriasis

By ANAHAD O'CONNOR | May 30, 2013
Losing weight may help to allay the red, scaly skin patches of psoriasis, a new study shows.
Obesity; Psoriasis; Skin; Weight;

Interesting.
 
8
World

Concern Grows as Group Disappears in Mexico

By KARLA ZABLUDOVSKY | Jun 1, 2013
Eleven young people — seven men and four women — never made it home after a night out in the trendy Zona Rosa neighborhood of the capital.
Missing Persons; Youth; Bars and Nightclubs; Kidnapping;

No ransom demand.  Think gang war.
 
9
U.S.

Surpluses Help, but Fiscal Woes for States Go On

By MICHAEL COOPER and MARY WILLIAMS WALSH | Jun 1, 2013
Many states are expecting surpluses this year, and while they are welcome, the surpluses are not as robust as they appear because states put off costs during the economic downturn.
States (US); Pensions and Retirement Plans; Recession and Depression; Economic Conditions and Trends;

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/01/we-are-not-having-a-serious-discussion-obamacare-edition/
32 Comments

We Are Not Having A Serious Discussion, Obamacare Edition

I fairly often receive mail pleading with me to take a more even tone, to have a respectful discussion with people on the other side rather than calling them fools and knaves. And you know, I do when I can. But the truth is that on most of the big issues confronting us, there just isn’t anyone to have a serious discussion with. Ezra Klein offers a nice illustration of this point today, in his takedown of Avik Roy on Obamacare in California.
The thing you want to bear in mind is that Roy is widely considered a good example of a reformist conservative, not to mention a health policy wonk. So what does this reform-minded wonk have to say about Obamacare?
Klein tries really hard to keep his temper even; too hard, I think, because I wonder how many readers will stay with him all the way through. But to cut to the chase, Roy claims that Obamacare will cause soaring insurance rates, using a comparison that is completely fraudulent — and I say fraudulent, not wrong, because he is indeed enough of a policy wonk here to know that he is pulling a fast one.
So here’s the comparison Roy uses: he points out that the insurance premiums that will apparently be charged on the California exchange will be higher than the lowest rates being offered by some insurers in California right now.
As Klein says, this isn’t just comparing apples and oranges; it’s comparing apples with oranges you can’t even buy.
Right now, California has a basically unregulated individual market, in which insurers are free to reject whoever they choose, and charge whatever rates they choose. This means that a few young, healthy people with no record of prior medical problems can get cheap plans; these are, of course, precisely the people who need insurance least, and these plans are cheap not just because they’re only available to the very healthy but because they don’t provide much insurance. If you’re not healthy or wealthy enough to get by with this kind of insurance, too bad.
So looking at these rates tells you nothing at all about the success of a program that offers insurance to everyone, regardless of medical history, and sets fairly high minimum standards for the quality of that insurance.
What’s more, this isn’t some obscure issue. When people try to explain the logic of ObamaRomneyCare — certainly when I try to explain it — they often start from precisely this point, pointing out that unregulated insurance markets give the healthy and wealthy a pretty good deal but leave everyone else out in the cold, then work from that point toward the “three-legged stool” of community rating, mandates,and subsidies that supports reform. So Roy has to know that he’s making an essentially fraudulent argument — and does it anyway.
And Roy is about as good as you get in this stuff: his tone is even, he actually knows something. Nonetheless, he goes for the cheap, misleading shot.
I know that a lot of people wish we lived in a country where debates about things like health care policy were serious, honest discussions of debatable points. I like to hope that by the time I retire I’ll actually live in a country like that. But right now, and surely for years to come, it’s basically facts versus fraud."
10
Your Money

Fired for Being Gay? Protections Are Piecemeal

By TARA SIEGEL BERNARD | Jun 1, 2013
Workplace protections for L.G.B.T. people amount to a patchwork of state and local laws and judicial decisions.
Discrimination; Homosexuality; Transgender and Transsexual; Civil Rights and Liberties; Workplace Environment; Law and Legislation;

The dam is broken.  We are waiting for the flood.
The conservatives will fight the change at every step.

11
Opinion

An Elizabethan Cyberwar

By JORDAN CHANDLER HIRSCH and SAM ADELSBERG | Jun 1, 2013
In confronting today’s cyberbattles, the United States should think less about Soviets and more about pirates.
United States Defense and Military Forces; Cyberwarfare; Computers and the Internet; Cyberattacks and Hackers; Computer Security; United States International Relations;

We cannot defend cyberspace and we do not want to. 
The attempt to exert control of the traffic would destroy the effect. 
Each node must defend itself.
That is passive defense. 
Denial of service attacks will remain possible.
Such attacks require bot nets.
Each reported such attack reveals a group of subverted machines which can be cleaned and fortified. 

12
N.Y. / Region

Jury Convicts Officer Over False Claim of Drug Deal

By CHANNING JOSEPH | May 30, 2013
Isaias Alicea was convicted of 10 felony counts of filing a false document, after claiming he saw two men conducting a drug deal in West Harlem last year.
Police; Decisions and Verdicts; Suspensions, Dismissals and Resignations; Drug Abuse and Traffic; Police Brutality, Misconduct and Shootings; False Arrests, Convictions and Imprisonments;

A first conviction with more to follow.
 
13
Technology

Q&A: Choosing a Windows Tablet

By J.D. BIERSDORFER | May 31, 2013
14
N.Y. / Region

Amid Protests Over Free Tuition, Mayor Urges Graduates to Donate

By VIVIAN YEE | May 30, 2013
Speaking at Cooper Union’s commencement ceremony on Wednesday, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg urged the new alumni to give back to their school.
Tuition; Colleges and Universities; Demonstrations, Protests, and Riots; Philanthropy;

The students at Cooper lay out plenty in fees and other charges.
Tuition should remain at zero.
 
15
World

Grim Task of Identifying Factories’ Dead Overwhelms Bangladeshi Lab

By JIM YARDLEY | May 31, 2013

Call for help.

16
Technology

Why Big Data Is Not Truth

By QUENTIN HARDY | Jun 1, 2013
Don’t let the rhetoric fool you, a Microsoft researcher says: Big Data is a human tool, which means it is subject to all kinds of miscollection, misapplication and abuse. While it is being promoted as a kind of data-driven truth, it is not and it poses a threat to privacy.
Advertising and Marketing; Computers and the Internet; Data-Mining and Database Marketing; Privacy;

We know some of the problems.
With clever interpretation data sets can be useful.
Data sets can easily be very destructive.
I will have to clear the cookie jar on this machine.
I rebuilt my Microsoft system a few days ago.

17
Technology

Roam the World and Keep the Cellphone on a Budget

By ERIC A. TAUB | May 30, 2013
After years of criticism, American mobile carriers now offer overseas calling packages at a small fraction of what they once cost.
Cellular Telephones; Travel and Vacations; Wireless Communications; Budget Travel;

Use Skype at Wi-Fi hot spots.  Put the pictures on a card or other hard file.
They can wait.  Real emergencies can be dealt with.
Read the article.  Make a plan.
 
18
Opinion

Help China's Women and Girls

Jun 1, 2013
China’s one-child policy must be ended.
Population; Women and Girls; Birth Control and Family Planning;

Continuing the one child policy is the best thing that can be done for women
and girls in China.

Within a generation or two it will end the preference for boys.
I can think of nothing else that will so effectively do so. 
They will go from dowry to bride price very rapidly.
 
19
World

Germany Counts Heads and Finds 1.5 Million Fewer Residents Than It Expected

By NICHOLAS KULISH and CHRIS COTTRELL | Jun 1, 2013
Already deeply concerned about its rapidly dwindling population, Germany found 1.5 million fewer inhabitants than previously assumed.
Population; Census;

Inflation would help with this problem.
 
20
Opinion

Belief Is the Least Part of Faith

By T. M. LUHRMANN | May 30, 2013
It is more helpful to think about faith as the questions people choose to focus on, rather than the propositions observers think they must hold.
Religion and Belief; Christians and Christianity; Evangelical Movement; 

Sophistry.  There is joy all around us and none of it involves a god.

Why would the universe be so limited as it was conceived in the earlier ages.

I am with William of Occam.  One is far too big a multiplier.





There is no need for a tornado shelter to be habitable space.

Time to sleep.

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